I watched Makers:
Women who make America on PBS last night.
I stayed up as long as I possibly could because it was that good. While watching it I found myself asking why
couldn’t I have been born about -when
women would band together to fight injustice through dialogue, magazines geared
towards years before all of that started
so I could take part in changing the face of marriage and of women’s rights. I witness women talking about how they shed
their traditional roles and why it was important.
I always felt really strong when it came to women’s rights
and fair play. In fact most the men I dated could see it in me and always commented on my thoughts and behavior. At times I just thought I was a control freak. I carry the proverbial black leather glove and in my mind I put it on and ball my fist and thrust it into the air when I feel a sense of power. Although I do this I still haven’t
found my “fight”. I think about the women who came before me and who sacrificed their families, friends and careers to stand up for what they believed in. I believe there is
something for me to fight and this feeling has remained with me for many
years. I'm a rebel and wear my suit of armor proudly. I stand up to the thought that I
should be invisible or put in a box but I never made that my fight.
This documentary was so awesome. I literally wanted to get out of bed and
climb into the television so I could be a part of the movement of women
rallying against those who felt that they could tell women what to do with
their bodies. I wanted yell and shout
while they were yelling and shouting but I would obviously wake my 94yr old
neighbor. During the viewing of this
show something was evoked in me that caused excitement. Were women really like this back in the day? Yes they were. Are there women this radical now? Where are they? Women stood on podiums and
welcomed dialogue about women’s rights and those who wanted to take them away. Women shouted that they wouldn’t stand for
the foolishness of the lawmakers. Women
stopped taking their husbands plate to the kitchen after dinner was finished as
a show of rebellion from the old ways that kept women at home in the kitchen,
barefoot and pregnant. There is nothing
wrong with being pregnant and in the kitchen whether at the same time or at
different times. In our times now though
here in America there is something not right, at least in my world, with
expecting a women to stay at home unless that is something she truly wants to
do. Now, to be told that this is the
life of a man’s wife or a woman’s wife
is completely not palatable to me but I do understand that in some
cultures the women stays home while the man works and ensures that the bills
are paid.
Perhaps all of this is why I am single. I rebelled from the moment I met my
ex-husband and I wasn’t shy about it. I
was raised to be me no matter what. I
was raised to not take any crap from anyone let alone a man I lay with. Let it be known, laying with me does not
allow anyone to tell me how I should dress, spend my money and what I should do
with my body. If it were up to my
ex-husband I would have one or two children right now. Knowing I was never fit to be a mother would
have been a travesty to those kids. A
strong woman needs a strong man. In my
world I work, make my own money, pay my bills, shop when I want to shop, cook
when I want to cook and clean when I need to clean. In my world I don’t take everyone’s
advice. In my world the person I commit
to will understand that an opinion does not always need to make itself known. In my world the person I commit to will be
willing to take the remaining 50% of the load.
There will be times I need to take up a little extra slack and there
will be times when he will have to do the same.
But with love and commitment things are sure to work out.
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